Contract 030: Ryan Nael

Marick shifted through the mass of paperwork that had accumulated on his desk. He sighed. Every time he left for a few days, the paperwork seemed to stack higher and higher. He was focused on his work, fingers darting across his keyboards, eyes scanning back and forth from the pair of screens at his desk.

He didn't even realize that Ryan was standing, hands behind his back waiting for the Quaestor to look up. He shifted uneasily from foot to foot, and started to open his mouth to say something, but retracted it in fear of upsetting the very busy-looking Hapan.

Finally, Marick looked up. "Ah, Ryan Nael. Impressive job with Frello. He may be a fool, but he has value."

"Just trying to help out as best I can, sir," he replied calmly, his posture more relaxed now. He had heard stories of Marick, and was aware of his reputation as the "Black Flash." He also knew that he was former leader of Oblivion Brigade. Ryan knew that he should never let his guard down, but in the presence of his Quaestor he felt safe enough.

"Yes, of course." Marick nodded and then paused for a moment as his calculative mind began to go to work. "I have something that should be right up your alley."

"Yes sir!" Ryan almost saluted, but saw the narrowing of Marick's eyes and figured it best not to.

"Good luck," Marick said as he tossed a data pad at Ryan.

"It will be done." The Journeyman caught the pad with ease and smiled, offering a slight bow of his head before dismissing himself.

Once Ryan had left, Marick smiled. Dralin had found a good apprentice. He turned back to his desk, and sighed.

<Begin://>>

Mission Type Requested: SECURITY
Mission Rank: B Class
Location: Port Ol'Val Shadow Port

Mission Breif:

Greetings Ryan. After the good work with Frello, I see that you will no doubt be a powerful Knight. In the meantime, there is a matter at hand that needs attending. Landon Delarian, an agent working for us within the Mal company, has been exposed. We need to get her out, and into Qel-Droman hands so we can work on getting her a new identify and getting her off the station and relocated. She has provided us with invaluable data on Mal company that we are using to strengthen our foothold in Port Ol'val. You should be able to find her in one of the bars in the Ducts. She is aware I am sending someone, and would probably leave clues to finding her. Attached is her Dossier.

As with all missions in Ol'val, keep force usage to a minimum. Landon must be brought back to Qel-Droma Headquaters safely.

Dossier File//

Name: Landon Delarian
Race: Twi'lek
Sex: Female
Age: 25
Height: 5'4
Weight: 115 lbs

Strength: * (1/5)
Dexterity: *** (3/5)
Cunning: ***** (5/5)
Subterfuge: ****( 5/5)

Melee: * (1/5)
Ranged: *** (3/5)
Force Usage: NFU (Non-force user)

Good luck.

-Quaestor Marick Del'Abbot

<

Request a couple days' extension due to hard drive crash which caused me to lose my eight-page entry. Look forward to my contract completion soon, though.

Request Granted. No worries.

Sorry again Marick, having to type from a library computer til my hard drive gets fixed and its been delaying completion of my contract as I have to work around library hours and work schedule. It WILL be done by Wednesday.

Sorry again Marick, having to type from a library computer til my hard drive gets fixed and its been delaying completion of my contract as I have to work around library hours and work schedule. It WILL be done by Wednesday.

Extension granted.

Author's note: Library access impossible yesterday and currently intermittent. However here is Part one and expect more very soon as I can access and send the rest of this.
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PART ONE
Ryan glanced over the profile of his charge, Landon Delarian, his datapad flickering and illuminating the otherwise pitch-black alley, it's wending curves and overhangs conspiring to block all light that would otherwise trickle through to the alley floor. The Port had a strange way of reflecting nature, the way the light filtered through to the ground from neon suns through branches of metal and stone, shrouding everything in shadows that played, danced, and conspired across the inhabitants of Ol'val. Like any wilderness, the Port also had predators, intelligent ones that stalked the shadows and rather than seeking to simply slay and devour the weak, seeking instead to slowly destroy lives through feeding addictions and vice. It was that kind of predator that killed a man's soul, and caused that man to betray his dreams and those he loved in order to feed the furnace of his vice. For Ryan, the notion of a “victimless crime” was nonsensical. After all, human beings were social beings and what men did in the shadows or in their homes affected the way they interacted with another. In this way, drugs, prostitution, and other debauchery darkened the very will of humankind, enslaved them to their passions, and made them animals.

It was in this wilderness that Ryan served as an honorable yeoman. Despite involvement in criminal enterprise by Qel-Droma, Ryan was paradoxically becoming an asset due to his stiff and straitlaced attitude. Unlike most criminals Ryan could be trusted to be loyal to more than money and self-preservation. Unlike most Dark Jedi, Ryan could be trusted not to murder or betray his superiors in a power grab. Ryan loved security work, as it was where his talents lay and allowed him to further develop his skills as a hand to hand combatant. After reading the datapad however, Ryan grimaced. He was going to hate this mission, if only because his target possessed enough skill to possibly get themselves killed.

Landon, Ryan's charge, was an attractive female Twi'lek whose cover had been blown and who needed extraction. The problem would be finding her for the extraction, much less getting her out from under the nose of the Mal company or anyone else who wanted the information she held, or for the information she held to die along with her. According to the brief, she would be savvy enough to help lead Ryan to her through clues. However, the risk was that if Ryan could be led to her, so could any well trained bounty hunters or other scum.

Ryan's highly polished boots occasionally caught the light as he made his way towards a small bar that served as the only source of bright light in this section of the Ducts. His black suit made him look like one of the strange, long shadows cast by the light coming from the bar's windows and its bright neon sign, a cursive purple monstrosity bearing the name “Avalon”. Perhaps it was the nature of an Arconan to become more and more indistinguishable from the shadows they warped and twisted like clay, like a puppetmaker taking on the likeness of one his marionettes, the craftsman becoming one with his craft in such a way that he in turn becomes crafted and warped. Ryan's blue eyes hurt just looking at the light and he walked briskly to the entrance, burning his eyes quickly into awareness, like pulling off a sticky bandage quickly rather than prolonging the agony.

Contract Suspended.